“When is the next Direct?” is a question that countless people have asked countless times this year, and yet, though there have been plenty of mini-Directs, game-specific presentations, and more recently, Partner Showcases and indie presentations, a Direct is still nowhere in sight. It seems, however, that one might be on the horizon.
GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb, who’s been a reputable source of insider information across the board over the past few months, recently said in the GamesBeat Decides podcast (which you can view below) that the next Nintendo Direct presentation might be coming as early as this Friday, which is August 28th. Grubb says that based on the things he’s heard, there’s “a strong possibility” that that’s when the Direct will happen.
He goes on to warn listeners that, given Nintendo’s recent track record with Directs, it might not necessarily be a full general Direct, and could very well end up being a Partner Showcase. However, Grubb adds that regardless of that, a general Direct focused on first party announcements is definitely on the horizon, and at most, will be happening before mid-September. With Nintendo having a special meeting with investors halfway through next month, Grubb says they will want to get ahead of questions about upcoming releases with announcements before then, though he also adds that he’s been hearing about a full Direct by mid-September since even before the meeting with the investors was confirmed.
Recent rumours have suggested that a Nintendo Direct will be happening later this month, so there definitely seems to be a lot of smoke. That said, one never knows anything for sure with Nintendo, and we’ve been burned about Directs multiple times this year, so it’s best to tread with caution, regardless of how reputable Grubb is as a source.
As for what Nintendo could announce in a Direct if it does get announced, there’s been plenty of rumours about quite a few announcements. A collection of remasters of mainline 3D Super Mario games have been rumoured for a while, while recently, a retailer listing of a Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was also spotted. Pikmin 3 Deluxe is due out for the Switch later this year, so that could receive new details, while fans have been hoping for an update on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 for a while now.